John 11
-Lazarus of
Bethany, who was a dear friend of the Christ, was sick in the village of Mary
and her sister Martha. It had been Mary who anointed the Lord with anointment
and wiped His feet with her hair. Lazarus was Mary and Martha’s brother. The
sisters sent word to the Lord telling Him that Lazarus, whom Jesus loved, was
sick. When Jesus heard of this, He made a statement, “This sickness is not to
end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified
by it.” The Lord knows the end from the beginning. Jesus had great love and
compassion for Lazarus, Mary, and Martha, but He stayed two days longer in the
place where He was before going to Bethany. But, afterwards He told His
disciples that they all were going back to Judea. God had a plan. Even though
it was by now common knowledge that the Jews were out to kill the Messiah,
Jesus had to go back and do the work of the Father. When His disciples questioned
Him on going back, He answered them, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If
anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this
world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not
in him.” After this, He made another statement, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen
asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.” The disciples thought
He was talking about literal sleep, but Jesus had meant that His friend had by
now passed away into eternity. So, Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.” Jesus
was glad for His disciples’ sakes that He was not there at the time of Lazarus’
passing for the purpose of building their belief in Him. Now they were on their
way, charging into enemy territory in Judea, which necessitated Thomas’, also
called Didymus, bold remark, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him (John
11:1-16).” The stage was being set.
-When Jesus came to Bethany, which was only a couple of
miles to the east of Jerusalem, He found that Lazarus had already been in the
tomb for four days. This was a legal death per Jewish law. Many of the Jews had
come to console Martha and Mary concerning their brother, so there would be
many witnesses to what was about to happen. Martha went out to meet Jesus, but
her sister Mary stayed at the house. Martha, knowing God’s power to heal,
point-blank told Jesus when she saw Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my
brother would not have died.” Then she affirmed hope, “Even now I know that
whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Jesus said to this grieving
sister, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha thought He was speaking of the resurrection
in some distant future, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on
the last day.” Jesus now makes a profound statement to her, “I am the
resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and
everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” Martha
affirmed her confession, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ,
the Son of God, even He who comes
into the world.” After saying this, she went away and called her sister, Mary,
saying secretly to her, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” When Mary
heard this, she sprang up quickly and was coming to Him. Jesus had yet to get
into the village, and when Mary left, all those coming there to console
followed her out supposing she was going to the tomb of her brother to mourn.
As Mary came to Jesus, she fell at His feet and also expressed belief that had
He gotten there sooner all would have been well with Lazarus. Jesus experienced
the emotion of the moment when He observed her and everyone there weeping.
Deeply moved in spirit and troubled, Jesus asked, “Where have you laid him?”
They told Him, “Come and see.” Then we have the shortest verse in Scripture, “Jesus
wept.” This demonstration alerted the crowd to just how much He loved His departed
friend. What we don’t know is that if Jesus was weeping because of the emotion
of the moment or if He was weeping because He was going to be bringing his
friend back to a fallen world from Heaven in Paradise with the Father. Either
could be correct in this instance. There were those who still wondered why this
all had to happen, and that it could certainly have been possible to heal him
from death (John 11:17-37).
-Now Jesus came to the tomb of His friend, being deeply
moved within His Spirit. The place where Lazarus had been laid was a cave with
a stone covering it. Strangely, Jesus instructed them to remove the stone, but
sensible Martha exclaimed, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he
has been dead four days.” Jesus
reminded her though, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see
the glory of God?” At last, they did remove the stone. Jesus raised His eyes to
Heaven and spoke to the Father, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I
know that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said
it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.” Upon completion of these words,
He commanded in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” He did it! The dead man
walked out of the tomb coming forth bound hand, foot, and face with burial
wrappings. Talk about awesome! Jesus got practical now, “Unbind him, and let
him go.” Obviously for good reason, many of the Jews who had come to Mary and
Martha now believed in Jesus because they had seen this once in a lifetime resuscitation
miracle (John 11:38-45). This certainly foreshadowed His own resurrection,
which was quickly approaching.
-However, some of them went and told the Pharisees of the
things Jesus had done. These Pharisees and chiefs priest convened a council.
Their pragmatism took over with their true evil in the fear of man showing by
now as they maintained, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs.
If we let Him go on like this, all
men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place
and our nation.” Caiaphas, who was high priest for that year, spoke up, “You
know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you
that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” He had
previously prophesied this event as the high priest that year, and he was now
making efforts to make that a reality. This prophecy, he had rightly deduced,
would not only help the nation of Israel, but it would also gather together
into one the children of God who were scattered aboard. From that day on, they
proactively planned together to kill the Messiah. Jesus on His part was no
longer walking publicly among the Jews. He went away from there to the country,
near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim. It was there where He would
stay with His disciples. The Passover was now near, and many were coming out of
the country to purify themselves before the LORD at His Temple. Many were
seeking Jesus at this time and wondering if He would make an appearance. The
chief priests and Pharisees were giving strict orders that if anyone knew His
whereabouts, they needed to report it, so that they might be able to seize Him
(John 11:46-57). The plot for the redemption of mankind was thickening.
-*Application*- Jesus
is the resurrection and the life. If we believe in Him, our souls will never
perish and we will be raised to life in the last day. This is the truth and
hope that all humanity longs for in this cursed world. Share the message and be
bold in it. Christ is still redeeming people today. Have no fear of man or
their consequences (1 Peter 1:3-9). Be willing to wait for His perfect timing.
Verse to Memorize:
John 11:25-26, 35
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